The Emerald Woman and the Little Star
Chapter Ten
Elphaba sighed as she closed the little girl's door it had been along day she headed down the hall to the bathroom and ran herself a nice warm bubble bath she had been soaking for about twenty minutes when Fiyero pokes his head around the door.
"Space for a little one in that bath" said Fiyero with a grin.
"Ok on one condition no funny business I'm not in the mood tonight" said Elphaba. Fiyero nodded, took his clothes off and slipped into the warm water behind Elphaba the two of them remained quite for about five minutes then Elphaba spoke.
"Yero do you think I'm going enough for that little girl" said Elphaba her eyes staring at the water.
"Elphaba Melena Tiggular you are more than good enough for Alice that little girl adores you, stop putting yourself down" said Fiyero rubbing Elphaba's back "would you like me to wash your hair"
Elphaba nodded and sat forward so Fiyero could reach the shower head that was attached to the taps on the side of the bath.
Down the hall Alice jolted awake from her nightmare she slowly sat up in bed blinking she looked around the dark room her heart hammering in her chest, tears rolling down her cheeks she slipped out of bed and scooped up her rag doll which was laying on the floor then left her room in search of Elphaba.
Back in the bathroom Fiyero had finished washing Elphaba's hair and was now rubbing body wash over her green skin while she sighed with contentment he was so busy rinsing the soap off he didn't notice the little girl in the door way until she started screaming.
"NO NO STOP HURTING MY ELPHIE" screamed Alice she dashed over to the bath and tried to pull Fiyero's hands away from Elphaba.
Elphaba quickly got out of the bath and put her bathrobe on then scooped the little girl up.
"Baby it's ok Fiyero wasn't hurting me sweetheart I promise he was helping me wash like I did when you had a bath" said Elphaba rocking the sobbing child in her arms after a few minutes the little girl started to calm down.
While Elphaba was trying to calm the little girl down Fiyero got out of the bath and wrapped a towel around his bottom half then turned to Elphaba.
"I'll be in the bedroom Fae" said Fiyero then he left the bathroom. Elphaba nodded then turned back to the little girl in her arms who had gone quiet and had a death grip on the front of her bathrobe.
"Let's get you back to bed baby" said Elphaba she felt the little girl shake her head against her shoulder.
"No Elphie no bed daddy will hurt me again" said Alice
"Baby it was just a dream nobody is going to hurt you again Fiyero and I won't let them" said Elphaba. The little girl pulled away from Elphaba and looked into her eyes after taking a deep breath she spoke.
"Elphie I need a bucket" said Alice her voice shaking "I need a wee wee"
Elphaba sighed and held the little girl close "sweetheart you don't have to wee in buckets here remember it's ok to use the toilet" she put the little girl back on her feet and walked her over to the toilet, pulled her bottoms and knickers down then sat her onto the toilet but the little girl began to panic.
"No Elphie no toilet not allowed only a bucket" sobbed Alice.
"It's ok baby you're ok just let it go" said Elphaba kneeling down and rubbing the little girls back after a few minutes the little girl still hadn't weed "come on baby do your wee wee it's ok"
"No Elphie not allowed to wee in the toilet" said Alice and before Elphaba had time to react she slipped off the toilet yank her bottoms up, shot out of the bathroom and down the dark hall way. Knowing what the little girl was going to try and do Elphaba shot after her and spotted the little girl disappearing down the dark stairs.
"Alice come back baby it's ok" said Elphaba but the little girl didn't stop as she got to the bottom of the stairs she could hear a tinkling sound coming from the dark sitting room, entering the room Elphaba flicked the light switch and spotted the little girl sitting on the waste bin (which the maid had cleaned and put back) a look of relief on her face as she emptied her bladder into it.
Elphaba slowly walked over to the little girl and knelt down in front of her "are you finished sweetheart" the little girl nodded and stood up, Elphaba looked round for the tissue box and her eyes fell on the packet of baby wipes that was still sitting on the table from earlier she grabbed it, opened it up and handed a wipe to the little girl who wiped herself then pulled her bottoms back up.
Elphaba grabbed the bin in one hand the little girl's hand in the other and lead her to the down stairs bathroom she quickly emptied the bin into the toilet and flushed it leaving the bin in one side of the double sink she helped the little girl to wash her hands then washed her own hands then turned to the little girl "let's get you back to bed baby" she scooped the little girl up and Alice buried her head into Elphaba's neck as she carried her up the stairs and into her room. Elphaba tucked the little girl into bed and waited for her to fall asleep, once she was sure the little girl was settled Elphaba left the room and headed down to the master bedroom where she found Fiyero already fast asleep she quickly took her robe off and threw on a pair of pyjamas then got into bed and quickly fell asleep.
The following morning Elphaba woke up early yawning she looked at the clock and saw it was only six thirty she gently got out of bed so she wouldn't disturb Fiyero and padded down the hall to the bathroom to get washed once done she headed back to the bedroom and quickly got dressed then pulled her hair into a pony tail before leaving the bedroom and heading down the hall, she had just got to the top of the stairs when she bumped into Mary Ellen who was coming the other way with a pile of clean towels in her hands.
"Good morning Madam" said Mary Ellen adjusting the pile of towels in her arms.
"Good morning Mary Ellen when you are finished with the washing could you go around every room and collect the waste bins please and put them in the cupboard under the stairs" said Elphaba with a smile "except the ones in my bedroom and Alice's room I'll grab them when Fiyero and Alice are awake"
"Of course Madam" said Mary Ellen and she scuttled off. Elphaba watched the maid disappear down the hall and was about to head down stairs when she heard a small voice behind her.
"Elphie"
Elphaba smiled as she turned around and saw Alice her doll in one hand the other rubbing her eyes. "Good morning baby you're awake early did you sleep well"
The little girl didn't answer just held her arms up to Elphaba who immediately scooped the little girl up and held her close. Alice snuggled into Elphaba's chest and sighed with contentment, Elphaba stroked the little girl's head.
"Let's get you dressed little girl we have a busy day ahead of us you and me are going to go to the shops today" said Elphaba as carried the little girl in to her room she put the little girl down on her feet and smiled as she watched the little girl head over to the toy box and pull out the dolls and tea set.
"Play with me Elphie please" said Alice holding a doll up to the green woman.
"Of course sweetheart but let's get you dressed first" said Elphaba she opened the little girl's wardrobe and pulled out a pair of light pink jeans and a white long sleeved top with pink flowers on the front then turning to the drawers she pulled out a clean pair of knickers and a pair of pale pink socks "come on then sweetie let's get these clothes on you"
A few minutes later the little girl was dressed in her clean clothes and she was sitting on the bed while Elphaba brushed her long blonde hair then pulled it back into a miss mary finishing it with a little butterfly clip on each side of the hair band.
"There you go baby all done" said Elphaba kissing the top of the little girls head. The little girl turned to face Elphaba.
"Play now Elphie please" said Alice.
Elphaba smiled "come on then"
The little girl smiled and slipped off the bed and onto the floor where she had left the dolls and tea set, Elphaba sat beside the little girl and they started to play they had been playing for about three quarters of and hour when Fiyero appeared in the doorway.
"There's my two favourite girls" said Fiyero with a smile. Alice jumped and moved closer to Elphaba at the sound of his voice, noticing the little girl jump he turned to her "Hey it's ok sweetheart I'm not going to hurt you, did you sleep well"
Alice looked at Fiyero for a few seconds then nodded at him then turning back to her dolls she picked one up and held it out to him "play Fiyero"
A huge smile broke across Fiyero's face he slowly crossed the room and sat the other side of Elphaba so he wouldn't crowd the little girl and took the doll from her. The three of them played for another twenty minutes then a loud rumbling noise filled the air and Elphaba laughed.
"I think someone is ready for breakfast" said Elphaba just as her tummy rumbled again even louder this time "come on let's go and eat"
A short while late they were sat around the dining table, Elphaba was half way through her second slice of toast when she noticed Alice hadn't touched the toast in front of her.
"Sweetheart eat your breakfast baby it's ok" said Elphaba she watched the little girl slowly pick up the piece of toast and start to eat it "Good girl well done" she turned back to her own toast and quickly finished eating it, once she was done she turned back to the little girl and saw she had finished both slices of toast and was now gulping her juice down. When she finished she smiled at Elphaba.
"Thank you Elphie can I go and play now" said Alice.
"Of course you can sweetie for a little while then we are going to the shops" said Elphaba. The little girl nodded and dashed out of the room almost crashing into Mary Ellen coming the other way with a pile of waste bins in her hands "careful sweetheart"
Turning back to Fiyero she found him staring at her with a puzzled expression on his face.
"Fae what is Mary Ellen doing with all those bins" said Fiyero as he cleared the table.
"I asked her to collect them all and put them away so Alice can't pee in them, I'm trying to in courage her to use the toilet I know she's scared but I thought if she has no other option she might relax and use it" said Elphaba "your mother also suggested getting a potty chair she might feel more comfortable using that as it's smaller than the toilet and more like the buckets she has been forced to use"
Fiyero grinned at her "and you were worried you weren't good enough for her, sounds to me like you are going to be the perfect mother"
Elphaba blushed and looked down to the floor "Stop it Yero you and I both know there is nothing about me that's perfect". Fiyero put the plates he was holding back down on the table then walked around to where Elphaba was standing and pulled her into his arms.
"Hey Madam don't start that talk you are perfect in every way and I love you more than life itself" said Fiyero "now go and take that beautiful little girl to the shops and have fun" he kissed the top of Elphaba's head then released his grip on her.
Elphaba headed for the dining room door then stopped as she got to it turning back to Fiyero "I love you too Yero so much" she smiled at him then turned and headed upstairs to find Alice.
When she reached the top of the stairs she could hear the little girl chatting away to her dolls smiling Elphaba slowly walked up to the little girl's door and stood quietly outside of it listening to the little girl talking.
"So dolly I think I like it here nobody shouts at me and I get to have lots of juice and yummy food and I love Elphie and she said she will not hurt me" said Alice. Elphaba watched as the little girl held the doll next to her ear for a few seconds then moved it away looking at it again "what about Fiyero, well I think he's ok he helped me blow the bubbles yesterday he might still hurt me but I think as long as Elphie is here I will be safe"
Elphaba wiped a stray tear from her cheek then smiled as she entered the little girl's room, Alice smiled when she saw Elphaba enter the room.
"Elphieee" said Alice standing up and throwing her arms around Elphaba's waist "play with me please"
Elphaba smiled and knelt down so she could look the little girl in the eyes "not right now baby it's time to go to the shops". The little girl grinned excitedly and dashed out of her room towards the stairs, Elphaba shot after her and caught hold of her at the top of the stairs "hold on sweetie I need you to do a wee for me before we go out we don't want any accidents do we"
The little girls eyes widened with fear and she started to shake "No Elphie no toilet don't need to"
"Sweetheart it's ok to use the toilet will you at least try for me" said Elphaba. The little girl shook her head violently.
"No toilet don't need to" said Alice.
Elphaba sighed "ok sweetheart ok if you say you don't need to I believe you, now let's get to those shops"
A short while later the two of them were in the carriage on the way to town, Alice was looking out of the window and pointing at things as they past before long they reached the busy town centre. As they stepped out of the carriage Elphaba tried to take hold of Alice's hand but the little girl pulled away from her.
"Alice I would like you to hold my hand it's very busy and I don't want to loose you" said Elphaba. The little girl folded her arms
"No Elphie don't want to I want to walk on my own" said Alice.
"Alice I said I want you to hold my hand now do as I have asked please or we go back home" said Elphaba. The little girl sighed and took hold of Elphaba's hand "thank you good girl"
The two made their way through the busy streets towards the large book shop at the other end of the row of shops, as they walked down the street Alice looked at the different shops and stalls as they past just as they got near to the shop the little girl spotted a grassy area with swings set into the grass and a huge slide she tugged on Elphaba's hand.
"Can I play please Elphie" said Alice pointing at the swings
"Not now Sweetheart if you are a good girl while we shop you can play later before we go home ok" said Elphaba.
Entering the book shop Elphaba headed over the the shelves that where stacked with text books and educational supplies grabbing her reading glasses out of her back she started to look through the books in search of the right ones for Alice she was so busy reading she didn't notice the little girl slowly walking away from her and disappearing out of the shop.